UPDATE: Land grab rush in Soshanguve continues
Residents of Block W invaded land in ward 25 sports ground near Dimakatso Primary School.
Frustrated residents of ward 25 in Soshanguve block W have occupied a sports ground near Dimakatso Primary School, dividing the land between themselves and erecting shacks.
The land grabbers claimed to have run out of patience after waiting for local ward councillor Phumzile Hlatshwayo to set up a meeting with the Department of Housing so they could hand over a memorandum about their plea.
Land grabber Edward Baloyi said the councillor had communicated with them through SMSes, “giving them false hope”.
“He promised us that he would set up a meeting with the MEC of housing, but it looks like he was just trying to buy time,” said Baloyi.
He said that Hlatshwayo had failed to set a date for the meeting and that “we cannot wait any longer”.
Mother of two, Sylvia Makgethe, said that she was tired of staying in the backyard room of her mother’s house with her children.
She said she wants her children to have a home of their own. However, she could not afford to buy land because she was currently unemployed and survived on child grants.
“We are too old to be sharing RDP houses with our parents,” said Makgethe.
“My children have to squeeze in with me in my backyard room to sleep.”
Another land invader, Jeffrey Phiri, said he was tired of the crimes that were committed in the area. He felt that occupying unused land will decrease the crime rate in the area.
“We as the youth want to help protect our area and occupying this land will leave criminals with no place to hide,” he said.
“They use this place to wait for our sisters from work and rob them. Enough is enough,”
The land invaders told Rekord that they would only move if they get RDP homes.
“We are not the first to occupy land; places like Merry Me and Marikana succeeded. People occupied the land and are living peacefully. Our area should also be considered and be treated equally,” Baloyi added.
Ward 25 councillor Phumzile Hlatshwayo said he was still waiting to meet with other officials to discuss the matter.
“I have requested a meeting with the department of housing and explained to them that the MEC is busy until further notice,” said Hlatshwayo.
“I will get back to them as soon as the date is set.”
A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that not everyone in the community approved of the land grab.
“There is a lot of unoccupied land in this area. Why would they want to occupy a sports ground? Where should our children play soccer … sports grounds are meant for sports,” said the resident.
Tshwane metro police could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.
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